JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon says he isn't afraid of China, but would leave if the US government told him to

• JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon said at NYT's Dealbook conference the bank would leave China if ordered to.
• Dimon said that an invasion of Taiwan would mean "all bets are off," according to CNBC.

Jamie Dimon says he's not "afraid" of China — but that JP Morgan would leave if the US government told it to.

The JP Morgan boss said at The New York Times' Dealbook conference that the Wall Street giant would abandon its business interests in the country if ordered to, warning that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would mean "all bets are off."

"If the American government makes me leave China, I'm leaving China. If there's a war in Taiwan, you would take all bets off," said Dimon, in comments at The New York Times' Dealbook conference reported by CNBC.

He expressed doubt over whether China would take the step of invading Taiwan, and called for greater diplomatic engagement between the US and China to prevent it.

"No one thinks it's going to happen … it may happen. That would be really bad for the world and really bad for China," he said.

Tensions between China and Taiwan, which China regards as a breakaway province, have been growing. China has increased military pressure on Taiwan without launching an invasion.

That poses a challenge to firms like JP Morgan, which has been active in China for a century and has expanded its presence there in recent years.

The Wall Street giant has business relationships with some key Chinese companies, including fashion brand Shein and social media giant Bytedance — which has been at the center of a diplomatic row over accusations that its video-sharing platform TikTok is a national security risk.

Like other Western businesses, it has found itself having to thread the needle between the growing rivalry between the US and China, with the Biden administration introducing new restrictions on exports of advanced microchips to prevent China's AI firms from catching up with their Silicon Valley rivals.

Dimon said he still thought the US had the upper hand in the geopolitical struggle. "I'm not afraid of China," he said, who pointed to the country's lack of allies and "terrible demographics" as reasons why the US was in a better position than its rival.

China is facing a demographic crisis thanks to an aging population, with the country needing to find a way to care for the estimated 400 million elderly people it is expected to have by 2040.

JP Morgan declined to comment when contacted by Business Insider.